5:52 am, August 10, 2026
Big Motoring World has been accused by a national newspaper of advertising used cars with outstanding safety recalls, including several vehicles affected by potential battery fire risks.
An investigation by The Telegraph found five Ford Kuga plug-in hybrids and two Volvo EX30 electric cars advertised on the used car supermarket’s website which it said were showing as subject to active recalls on the DVSA database.
The newspaper checked the registration numbers of vehicles being advertised by Big Motoring World against government recall records.
It said five of 125 Ford Kugas it checked had outstanding recalls, as did both of the Volvo EX30s it identified.
However, Big Motoring World said recall issues can arise while vehicles are in stock and stressed that it has dedicated staff monitoring the recall status of its changing inventory.
It also said it has processes in place to book affected cars in with their manufacturers for remedial work.
The affected Kugas are among vehicles subject to a Ford safety recall concerning the high-voltage battery, with owners of impacted cars advised to restrict charging because of a potential short circuit which could result in a loss of power or, in rare circumstances, a fire.
Meanwhile, Volvo has recalled certain EX30s because of a potential battery issue which could lead to overheating.
The manufacturer has previously said the fault has occurred in around 0.01% of EX30s sold and repair work began in June.
The Telegraph also identified a Kia EV3 being advertised by Big Motoring World which was shown on the DVSA database as having an outstanding recall.
That recall is unrelated to battery fires and concerns a software issue affecting the car’s digital dashboard.
Big Motoring World told the newspaper that the EV3 had already received the required software update and said DVSA records can take up to six weeks to reflect completed remedial work.
The newspaper also highlighted a Kuga advertised with an expired MOT despite the listing saying the vehicle had been ‘checked’ and ‘passed’.
Big Motoring World said the issue had since been addressed and staff had been reminded about carrying out status checks.
The investigation raises a wider issue for used car retailers over how outstanding recalls are identified and dealt with as vehicles move rapidly in and out of stock.
Dealers have obligations under UK product safety legislation when supplying vehicles affected by safety recalls, while advertising a vehicle awaiting recall work without making its status clear could also raise consumer protection concerns.
Big Motoring World, which operates 11 used car supermarkets and sold more than 60,000 vehicles last year, removed the adverts for cars identified as having active recalls after being approached by The Telegraph.
A spokesman for the company said: ‘While we endeavour to avoid having recall vehicles in stock, recall issues can arise at any point in time.
‘To manage this, we have dedicated staff responsible for maintaining accurate recall status by constantly monitoring our changing stock mix against the recalls published on the gov.uk website.
‘In the instance that we identify a vehicle in our stock with an outstanding recall, we have thorough and robust processes in place to book that vehicle in with the relevant vehicle manufacturer for the fault to be rectified at the earliest opportunity.’
The spokesman added that vehicle safety was of ‘utmost importance’ to the company and called for greater support from manufacturers in getting recall work completed.